Imperial says Altadis near go ahead

Imperial Tobacco insists its bold takeover of Altadis will get the nod from Spanish watchdogs any day - in the meantime, smokers in the UK and the rest of the world are still puffing away at its cigarettes with abandon.

The world's fourth-biggest tobacco company lifted sales 4% to £3.3bn in the year to end-September, with profits up 6% to £1.23bn.

Imps' £9.5bn takeover of Altadis, which makes Gitanes and Gauloises, has cleared most hurdles and is awaiting final approval by Spanish regulator CNMV.

Chief executive Gareth Davis said he expects this 'soon', which analysts took to mean this week or next.

The €50-a-share offer for Altadis is expected to be completed by January, although a rights issue to part-finance the deal has yet to be arranged. Imps must raise £5bn from the issue.

The European Commission cleared the deal subject to Imps offloading some of its pipe-tobacco and cigar brands.

Bristol-based Imps has 14,500 staff making some of the best-known brands in smoking, including Regal, Superkings, Lambert & Butler and Rizla.

Analysts say that, while the new deal could transform the company through access to fresh brands and markets, investors should focus on present performance, given the lack of clarity about when Altadis will happen.

A boardroom shake-up sees Frank Rogerson depart as corporate affairs director for 'personal and private reasons' and manufacturing director David Cresswell retire in December. Colin Day and Anthony Alexander are also stepping down.

Alison Cooper comes in as corporate development director, with Michael Herlihy and Mark Williamson joining as non-executives.

A dividend of 69.5p, up 12%, will be paid. Imps shares today gave up 54p to 2389p.